


Why Can't We Be Friends?

by malecnificenttyrus11



Category: Never Have I Ever (TV)
Genre: Ben Gross - Freeform, Comforting!Ben, Conflicted!Ben Gross, Devi Vishwakumar - Freeform, Enemies to...acquaintances?, Revelations, Rewritten Scene, Sad!Devi, principal's office
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:41:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24489913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malecnificenttyrus11/pseuds/malecnificenttyrus11
Summary: Ben Gross thought that things would go back to normal after his conflicted feelings over Devi's outfit. He'd hoped that they'd go back to their normal competitive selves...but things don't quite go as Ben plans. Ben knows something is wrong when Devi is quiet in class...not acting like herself. When Devi is pushed to the breaking point and snaps...how will Ben feel when he takes the hit? It's safe to say that Ben Gross realizes something else on this day.
Relationships: Ben Gross & Devi Vishwakumar
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	Why Can't We Be Friends?

It's official...Devi's life was over.

Okay...maybe that was a bit of a stretch, but in Devi's world...everything was falling apart at the seams.

Devi was thrilled when Paxton accepted her proposition (and relieved...since she'd given a rather embarrassing speech that left her thinking of ways to off herself before Paxton laughed in her face)

Much to her surprise, he hadn't done that at all. Instead...he accepted the offer.

Finally, Devi had hope that she'd be able to eliminate the nicknames that had followed her all the way through middle school and into high school (all thanks to stupid Ben Gross). She'd be popular, the girl that everyone would envy and want to be.

Paxton would end up falling for her, and they'd become a couple. The power couple of their entire school. She'd finally be able to make Ben Gross eat his words.

Okay...so maybe this plan turned out to be a bit flawed. Or a total recipe for disaster.

The first time her and Paxton had met up to "seal the deal"...Paxton took off his shirt, she panicked and ran out. Devi finally grew the courage to make her move and go for it again...but this time it ended up in flames.

Devi wasn't sure why Paxton was so angry at her. She wasn't snooping around his house...she just happened to run into his sister. The next thing she knew, Paxton was snapping at her, telling her that their deal was a bad idea and that she should leave.

And now...Paxton was ignoring her existence completely. 

To make matters even worse, Eleanor and Fabiola were somehow convinced that Paxton and Devi did, in fact, have sex. And she hadn't corrected them.

It was a matter of time before that also blew up in her face, too.

Devi felt as though her life was over...and in her mind she wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die. 

Honestly, she wanted to be the dead body on the 101.

Okay...that was also a bit dramatic, but this was how Devi processed and dealt with situations like this. 

Devi tried to push these thoughts into the back of her mind as she made her way to history class.

The class that she had with Paxton Hall-Yoshida. 

Shit...she was screwed.  
~  
Ben Gross sat in history class, his hands folded on his desk and a smile on his face. This was one of his favorite classes...he'd always looked forward to messing with Devi.

It was the highlight of his day.

Him and Devi would argue over almost anything and everything, no matter what topic. And as twisted as it sounds, Ben enjoyed their competitive dynamic.

Today was no exception. Well...until Devi walked into the classroom.

As he did everyday, Ben turned back to give Devi a cocky smirk. Normally...Devi would be very reactive to this, but today she walked into the classroom with her head down, a frown on her face.

The smirk fell from Ben's face slowly. That was definitely not like Devi. Something was clearly wrong...and Ben couldn't help but be concerned.

He wouldn't show that...of course.

Ben watched as Paxton walked into the classroom, walking directly past Devi and sitting beside him. Devi's face fell even more, and Ben frowned.

What was going on here? Why did Devi seem to be so upset at Paxton's presence.

Why did Ben even care? 

He quickly turned around after realizing that he'd been staring at Devi a bit too obviously.

The bell rang and class began. As usual, Ben raised his hand to answer every single question before Devi had the chance...but he quickly noticed that Devi wasn't even trying to answer.

She was just staring off into space, not even seeming to be focused on the lesson or on Ben's usual banter.

Something was definitely wrong.

"Devi...could you please name seven groups that the Nazis wanted to exterminate." Mr. Shapiro asks.

Ben waits for Devi's response, which never comes.

Mr. Shapiro furrows his eyebrows together, "Devi?" he asks again.

Devi snaps back into reality, looking up at the teacher and blinking her eyes.

"I asked you a question...Could you please name seven groups that the Nazis wanted to exterminate?" Mr. Shapiro repeats.

Ben slowly turns around in his chair to look at Devi, who appeared to be nervous.

Ben became more worried about Devi as he watched her appear to be in deep thought. Usually she'd answer the questions in class with lightning speed...not giving Ben any time to beat her to it.

He can't show that he's concerned, so instead he smirks at her, staring right at her to make her nervous.

Maybe this would push Devi to answer the question, maybe it would even help her feel better.

Right? This was a totally helpful solution...

Ben continue to stare at Devi as she began to list off names, "Oh...uh, the Jews," she starts as she counts on her fingers, "the disabled, free-masons..." she continues.

See, Ben's plan was totally working. He smirked even wider.

"The queer community, Johova's Witnesses and uh..." Devi stops, struggling to think of her last answer. She stumbles over her words as she tries to think of the last group.

Ben decides to help her out, so he turns around and raises his hand, "May I, Mr. Shapiro?" he questions. 

He sees Devi shoot him a look out of the corner of his eye.

Mr. Shapiro nods, gesturing for him to go ahead and answer.

"It's the Romani people...Mr. Shapiro." Ben answers with a smile.

"That's right, Ben." Mr. Shapiro nods. 

Ben smiles with a sense of accomplishment. He was finally able to answer something that Devi couldn't. It felt good, to be honest.

Ben turned around, noticing the way Devi's face looked even more sad, and slightly embarrassed.

He began to feel bad, wanting to say something that would cheer Devi up. Of course...that would be too obvious.

"It's okay Devi...I know how HARD it is to memorize SEVEN FACTS..." He says in his normal condescending and smartass tone.

He turned back around in his seat, laughing quietly. Mentally, he slapped himself.

Seriously, Ben? You couldn't just be nice for once...even though she was very clearly upset? 

You're such a dick.

Devi mumbles something under her breath, grabbing the attention of the entire class.

"Devi...what was that?" Mr. Shapiro asks, the entire class turning to look at her.

Ben is almost certain that she'd said something about him. He turns around to face Devi, smirking at her.

"Yeah, Devi, please...share your mumble with the rest of the class." Ben challenges her.

Devi speaks up almost immediately, "I said I wished the Nazis would kill ben." she says pointedly, earning a collective wave of gasps and whispers from the entire class.

Ben's eyes widen, and his face falls. Okay...that is the last thing he'd expected Devi to be saying. 

He was used to Devi making jabs at him. I mean...they went at eachother all the time. So why did this time almost...

hurt?

What did he even do to her that was so bad? I mean yeah...he's said many mean and uncalled for things to her in the past but...

Okay...I guess he maybe deserved her anger. But it still hurt.

Devi's face almost immediately flashed with remorse, and she looked down at her desk.

Ben was frozen in his spot, eyes still wide.

"Devi. That was completely uncalled for. Go to the office, now." Mr. Shapiro instructs her, pointing to the door.

Devi frowns, grabbing her bag and storming out of the room.

Ben watches as she leaves, a pit forming in his stomach. 

What Devi said was extremely hurtful and uncalled for...but he didn't want her to get in serious trouble for a comment that she clearly didn't mean. There was obviously something going on with her.

All of the students eyes turned to Ben, who glanced around uncomfortably.

"Ben...I'm very sorry that Devi said that. Nobody deserves to be killed by Nazis." Mr. Shapiro apologizes, and Ben shrugs.

"Also...you should probably go to the office too. You know...since this concerns you." Mr. Shapiro adds. 

Ben nods, getting up from his seat and making his way to the Principal's office.

He knocks on the door, entering after Principal Grubbs yells for him to come in. She nods in greeting, gesturing for him to sit in the seat next to Devi.

Ben sits down, trying his best to appear more angry and offended then concerned for Devi. He folds his hands in his lap.

"What the hell, Devi? You can't just go around wishing that Nazis would kill classmates!" The principal reprimands her.

Ben's eyes wander uncomfortably, him shifting in his seat.

"Especially ones who are..." The principal's voice drifts off, her appearing to be formulating the best way to articulate what she was trying to say without offending anyone.

Ben looks over at the Principal, who gives him an awkward smile.

He raises his eyebrow, "Jews?" he guesses.

"Yes, exactly...your words." She says as she points to him. She turns her attention back to Devi, folding her hands.

"Devi...apologize to Ben right now!" She demands.

Ben glances over at Devi, watching as she looks down at her lap with a frown.

"I'm sorry..." She breathes out.

Ben nods, accepting the apology that appears to be sincere. 

The principal didn't have the same reaction though. 

"You're going to have to do better than THAT..." The principal snaps.

Ben's eyes widen...this was not going to be good. 

"I'm sorry, I'm just...messed up!" Devi cries out, voice shaking.

Ben's eyes widen as he looks over at her, take aback by her sudden outburst. 

"I'm just a messed up person that ruins everything, and...will never find happiness..." she continues, glancing over at Ben.

Ben frowns...Devi doesn't ruin everything. What was she even talking about? 

She doesn't even realize how her constant competition and bickering makes everything easier for Ben. It helps to distract him from all the shit going down in his personal life.

"Why should I...I don't deserve love..." 

Of course Devi deserved love. Everyone deserved love.

Ben would admit that he doesn't exactly prove against this point when he's constantly tearing Devi down.

I mean...he did come up with the name of the UN...and basically always brought Devi down about her appearance and dates.

He never actually meant any of the things he said...but he also never realized the weight that his words carried.

Was Devi upset because of him?

Ben felt a pit form in his stomach.

"I'm just a rude teenager that disrespects her mother. I wish I was the dead body on the 101..." Her voice cracks, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Ben's face falls, his heart sinking at those words.

He did not realize that Devi had felt this way about herself. He was usually too busy breaking her balls to actually think about how his words might have hurt.

She'd lost her father, became temporarily confined to a wheelchair, and probably much more that Ben hadn't even been aware of.

He really was a dick.

"That was dark..." The principal adds uncomfortably.

Ben realizes that he's been staring at Devi almost this entire time. He shifts in his seat to look back at the Principal, removing all emotion from his face.

Ben sniffles, his eyes starting to burn.

He was extremely moved by Devi's speech...mainly because he felt a lot of the ways that she did.

Ben was messed up. His entire life was messed up. 

He felt unimportant to everyone in his life...it was almost like he didnt matter to anyone.

Was it his fault?

Ben felt like he didn't deserve love. I mean...he never got any from anyone in his life. The only person that ever made him feel like he mattered...

was Devi.

Ben knew that he couldn't let Devi get in trouble for her comment. She'd already been going through enough.

"Principal Grubbs...If its okay with you I'd like NOT to press charges." Ben informs her.

Press charges? It literally wasn't that deep. 

Ben internally screamed at himself for his weak, and rather embarrassing, comments lately.

"Okay...we really weren't discussing that Ben." She says in a judgemental tone.

Ben looks down at his lap uncomfortably.

"So...why don't you two...work it out," she suggests, gesturing between the two of them, "and don't tell your parents."

Ben glances over at Devi, who is still avoiding his eyes.

They both nod, standing up and walking out of the office.

What the hell was Ben even supposed to say to Devi after that? 

Normally he'd think of some smartass, backhanded remark to say to her to cover up any serious feelings.

But he knew this wasn't the right time for that.  
~  
Ben walks side by side silently with Devi, unsure of what to say.

Devi breaks the silence, "Ben, I'm...really sorry. I don't want Nazis to kill you." she says in a small voice.

That was probably the nicest thing Devi has ever said to him. Inside, he was smiling.

"Its okay...I could tell something bigger was bothering you..." he says as he approaches his locker, putting in the combination.

"Besides being poned by your intellectual superior." He adds with a smirk. 

Devi doesn't smile or roll her eyes at that...which makes Ben feel bad.

This really wasn't the time to be a dick, Ben.

"I'm assuming the date didn't go well?" Ben says in a softer voice, eyes sympathetic.

Devi turns to look at him, offering a small shrug.

Ben had been a total dick to Devi when she'd mentioned her date to him. He was so busy being both jealous of her date, and distracted by how pretty she looked to say anything nice.

Instead, he'd insulted her facial hair. And then proceeded to insult her and how she ended up in a wheelchair.

Yeah...Ben really wasn't good at being vulnerable or nice. He'd admit that.

"Everyone thinks me and Shira are this power couple, always going to fundraisers at restaurants owned by Lisa Vanderpump...she's my dad's client." He brags, rolling his eyes at himself.

Really Ben? You've mentioned this atleast twenty times to Devi before. Why are you still throwing things in her face? She needs support.

"Yeah...that comes up a WEIRD amount." Devi admits, and Ben smiles.

Shit...

"Yeah...but my point is even me and Shira have our ups and downs..." He continues, and he watches as Devi raises an eyebrow.

She looked surprised that Ben was finally offering some advice.

"But we make it work. Because I push her academically and..."

Ben...don't say it.

"Her hotness elevates me sexually." He adds with a cocky smirk.

Why the hell did he just say that? Shira never even looked in his direction. 

Devi makes a disgusted look, "You're gross, Gross...but thanks." she offers him a small smile.

She closes her locker and walks away. Ben smiles, watching her walk away.

Did Devi just thank him? Nobody has ever thanked him before...normally because he doesn't talk to a lot of people. 

Even though he'd once again been kind of a dick, she'd still thanked him.

He made her smile...he actually helped.

Maybe the whole being nice to Devi thing wasn't so bad. I mean...they both were going through some tough stuff in their personal lives, and both clearly projected that anger at eachother.

Ben looks down at the very staged photo of he and Shira, rolling his eyes.

He shut his locker, walking towards the exit of school.

He couldn't believe that he admitted to himself in the last week that Devi Vishwakumar was actually attractive. And now...he was admitting to himself that maybe they could be...friends.

What was happening to him?


End file.
